I want more luxury: Argentina boss Diego Maradona
gestures during a training session in Buenos Aires on
Saturday
Diego Maradona has demanded two state-of-the-art bidet
toilets be installed for him at Argentina's World Cup base camp in
South Africa.
Builders were rushed in to carry out a £1,400 overhaul of the
football legend's private suite after his aides complained that the
existing bathroom facilities would not meet his 'high
standards.'
His bedroom now includes two bathrooms, each featuring a
bidet toilets, which according to a South African newspaper
retail for £311 each.
They feature a heated seat, a warm air blow-dryer and
front and rear bidet wands.
The toilet is available on www.sandman.com, which describes it
as 'the best toilet seat in the world.'
Colin Stier, the manager at the High Performance Centre in
Pretoria where the team will stay, said Maradona's aides had made
the demand.
'(Bidets) are quite common in Argentina but hard to get hold of
here,' he said.
'In the end we managed to track down a seat which has bidet
nozzles, but to make it fit we ended up having to replace the whole
bathroom too.'
'Of course we were happy to do so. If it makes Diego more
comfortable during his stay then it's worth the effort.'
Luxury: Maradona's toilet is believed to be similar
to this one, which features heated seating and a warm air blow
dryer
Maradona and Argentina's squad will arrive in South
Africa later this week.
Maradona's private suite at the centre, which is operate by the
University of Pretoria, was created by knocking two existing
bedrooms together.
The request was one of many made by the Argentinian team, which
only narrowly qualified for the World Cup after a string of poor
results under Maradona's leadership
Other requests including a demand for rooms to be painted white,
and for six Playstations to be installed for players to use during
their free time.
The Argentinian FA also demanded 10 hot dishes be served every
day alongside no less than 14 different salads at every meal.
Every dinner must include at least three pasta sauces and no
fewer than three desserts.
The team also demanded South African braai at least once every
three days and requested that ice cream be made available at all
times throughout their stay.
The catering details were revealed by South Africa's Sunday
Times newspaper during an interview with HPC kitchen manager Linda
Tyrrell.
Base: Maradona and the Argentinian football team
will stay at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria during the
World Cup tournament
Argentina's rivals have also made a string of demands
ahead of their arrival in South Africa.
The Brazilian team demanded their pool be heated to exactly 32 C
by the time the players arrive at the Fairway Hotel in
Johannesburg.
Hotel marketing assistant Ariska van der Westhuizen also said
the squad would bring along two of their own Portuguese chefs, but
'would not be taking over the kitchen'.
They also ordered hot coffee and cookies - but said that there
was to be no chocolate.
The Mexican players, who will stay at the Thaba Ya Batswana
lodge near Johannesburg, requested their own priest who will
conduct services during the tournament in a church on the
premises.
The Italian team has flown in specialist gym equipment ahead of
their arrival and will bring their own pasta with them from
Rome.
Managers for the New Zealand team have enquired about arranging
golf lessons for some of their players during the tournament.
These demands contrast starkly with the more budget requests
from the Slovakian players - who simply asked for a pair of table
tennis tables and an electronic dartboard.